Luttrell maps vision for Shelby County

Economic development key task for transition team to address, says newly elected mayor

"There are a lot of folks looking for good things out of me," said newly elected Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell. "I'm not Superman, but I do think I can bring hard work to it."

Among the first things Mark Luttrell did the day after he scored a resounding victory in the county mayoral race for Republicans was visit with the Democrat who had been elected twice before him -- current Memphis Mayor A C Wharton.

"We talked about things we can mutually do together and things that would be beneficial for the city and county," said Luttrell, the current Shelby County sheriff who got 58 percent of the vote in Thursday's election. "And we shared some visionary thoughts."

Shelby County will begin to glimpse Luttrell's vision today when he releases details about the people who will lead a transition team, even as the County Commission votes on matters that will have an impact on what kind of county and budget Luttrell is set to inherit.

One is a new zoning plan that Wharton's administration put into motion five years ago, seeking to limit sprawl and create denser, more walkable communities. Another is a vote on a 1.5 percent raise for county firefighters that was added after interim mayor Joe Ford's budget was approved with increased property-tax revenues.

Ford, who got 42 percent of the vote Thursday, made central to his campaign an assertion that he had gotten more done in his eight months as interim mayor than any previous county mayor had accomplished in a full four-year term.

Ford also backed away from Wharton priorities such as functional consolidations of city-county services and single-source school funding for Memphis City Schools and was pushing to rename the environmental Sustainable Shelby initiative generated by Wharton's county administration.

Despite his stature as the most popular Democratic elected official in the county, Wharton chose not to get involved in the county mayoral race, though his support could have helped Ford.

County Commissioner Mike Carpenter, a Republican known to break from party colleagues on some issues, said he believes the existing relationship between Luttrell and Wharton may prove to be extremely important.

"While they've had disagreements in the past, there is a lot of respect between Sheriff Luttrell and Mayor Wharton," Carpenter said. "I think having two mayors on the same page with economic development, that is a real opportunity. They are the ones who can get out there and sell the community."

Economic development is a key task for the transition committee to address, Luttrell said. Other elements of the transition task force will include:

Effective cooperation between all seven municipalities in Shelby County and with local representatives of state and federal governments.

Potential impact on public-education issues.

Public safety and a continual emphasis on the Operation Safe Community blueprint.

Making Shelby County more business-friendly.

Luttrell, who said he hopes to spend time with Ford this week, will also be working with a commission that has a 7-6 Democrat majority when he takes office Sept. 1.

"When the guy from the other party wins, you ought to give him the benefit of the doubt," said Steve Mulroy, whose win in District 5 held the majority for Democrats. "I will count on him to do the right thing. ... He's a reasonable person so such optimism is not entirely inappropriate."

Luttrell said he wants an "operational audit" in order to see whether "we are organized as best we can be for my particular management style and also what deficiencies we see that need addressing."

Luttrell said he always felt confident that he would defeat Ford, but the margin stunned him -- and added pressure.

"There are a lot of folks looking for good things out of me," Luttrell said. "I'm not Superman, but I do think I can bring hard work to it."